STRANGE CASE OF THE CURSED FIG TREE
Matthew 21:18-22
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Barbara Albright, a young woman, was discussing her dating life -- or lack thereof -- with her mother. She told her about a friend of hers who had been in a terrible car accident, broken both her legs, and wound up marrying her orthopedic surgeon.
2. Barbara’s mother sighed: "Why can't anything like that ever happened to you?"
B. TEXT
18 Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered. 20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" they asked. 21 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ’Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
C. THESIS
1. FRUITFULNESS. If you’re a follower of Jesus, then I believe God puts something in you that makes you want to be fruitful for God – to mature in your own faith and touch the lives of others for Christ.
2. I think that those who are serious about Jesus find that just obtaining forgiveness of sins and a home in heaven isn’t enough.
3. Older Christians sometimes get the idea they have passed the time of their fruitfulness – sort of like a professional athlete who only has so many years to play. Well the good news is that you can be fruitful in Christ until your dying breath.
I.WHY LOOK FOR FIGS IN THE OFF SEASON?
There’s a lot of discussion among the commentators as to whether or not there should have been figs on the tree when Jesus went to it.
A. EXPLANATIONS OF CHRIST’S ACTIONS
1. Some commentators say that fig trees bear fruit first and then the leaves appear, or both appear about the same time. Since the tree was in leaf, figs should have been on it. (Bible Knowledge Commentary)
2. Other commentaries say that in March, the fig trees had small edible buds; in April came the large green leaves. Then in May, the buds would fall off and be replaced by the normal crop of figs. This is most likely.
3. This fig tree had all the appearance of a fig tree that was very fruitful. The Savior, coming to it and not finding a single fig, said, "May you never bear fruit again!"
B. WHY CURSE THE FIG TREE?
1. Jesus knew all about fig trees around Jerusalem. He created them, after all! It’s not like Jesus was saying, “Hmm, I wonder if this is the right time for figs?” Jesus knew that the tree should be able to offer something edible, but this tree was barren.
2. So he pronounced a curse on the tree: "May you never bear fruit again!" Was Jesus just having a bad day and taking it out on a tree?
3. So why did Jesus curse the fig tree? Here are a couple of popular theories that I think have the most credence;
a. IT WAS A JUDGMENT AGAINST ISRAEL. Many believe that Jesus saw this fig tree as a symbol of Israel (Hos. 2:12; 9:10) at that time. They professed to be fruitful, their deeds show that they were actually fruitless. So by cursing that generation, Jesus was predicting their doom and an end without fruit. Within a few days, the nation of Israel rejected their King and crucified Him, which led to war, judgment, & the destruction of the Temple in AD 70.
b. Other scholars say it’s a JUDGMENT ON FRUITLESS CHRISTIANS who make a show of bearing fruit but are, in reality, spiritually barren. I believe that should be the focus for us today; God expects us to be fruitful.
II. REASONABLENESS THAT WE SHOULD BEAR FRUIT
A. GOD/ JESUS IS A GARDENER
1. Two different times Jesus told parables in which God was portrayed as the owner of a vineyard (Matthew 20:1-8; 21:28-41). In the first, God keeps hiring laborers from the village square; in the second, he rents out his vineyard to evil tenants.
2. Jesus made clear in John 15:1; "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.”
B. BELIEVERS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE FRUITFUL
1. In the parable of the four soils (Matthew 13:23), the objective was to find good soil that might yield a significant crop, the soil representing a good person.
2. John 15:5-6,16,2 says, “I am the Vine; You are the branches. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much FRUIT.... You did not choose me, but I chose you...to go and bear FRUIT—FRUIT that will last. He[My father] cuts off every branch in me that bears no FRUIT, while every branch that does bear FRUIT he prunes so that it will be even more FRUITFUL.” So 6X He used the word fruit here.
3. In Luke 13: 6-9 Jesus says, “So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?'" 'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. 9If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.'"
4. So in all these parables Jesus spoke of believers who were NOT FRUITFUL being broken off, cursed, or dug up and thrown on the refuse pile. God plainly says we must be fruitful!
III. WHY DOES GOD EXPECT FRUIT?
A. IT’S THE “LAW OF LIFE”
In Genesis 1 God made every creature -- whether it lived in the air, on the land, or in the sea -- to reproduce after its own kind. It is the same way in the kingdom of God; we also ought to reproduce after our own kind. It's only natural.
B. FRUIT IS THE OUTCOME/ EVIDENCE OF STEADFAST ABIDING
1. Jesus said, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me”(John 15:4).
2. The only way we will be fruit bearing Christians is if we stay connected to our only source of Divine Life – Jesus Christ.
3. Planting a good vine in bad ground won’t produce good fruit, nor will planting a bad vine in good soil yield a harvest of good grapes. Bearing fruit requires the right combination. God the Father provides the fertile ground. His Son is the vine on which we grow. The Holy Spirit creates conditions optimally for bearing fruit.
C. RESULT OF ABUNDANCE OF LIFE
1. We have all watched our flowering bushes, during a time of drought, not be able to produce flowers. Fruitfulness is the result of, not just bare existence, but abundance of life. It’s only after the plant has absorbed all the water it needs to survive and then has spare water, that it can put that water to use in producing additional life.
2. The same is true of Christians: only if we’re overflowing with divine Life will we have enough to impart it to others.
D. FRUIT IS THE MANIFESTATION OF CHARACTER
1. The Lord said, “A tree is recognized [known] by its fruit” (Matt. 12:33). Trees that produce apples, are called apple trees; likewise oranges, are orange trees; pears, pear trees; bananas, banana trees. The kind of fruit that a tree has instantly identifies the kind of tree that it is.
2. So it is with people; whether they have good character or bad character. That is why it is so important that we let God develop Christlike character in us, or else our actions & attitudes will contradict what God has done in us.
3. JOKE
a. A pastor answered his telephone and heard a woman's voice request, "Please have a case of whiskey
sent to my house. We are having a party."
b. Inadvertently, she had dialed the wrong number, and the pastor recognized the voice as that of one of his
parishioners. Gently he replied, "I am your pastor."
c. He expected an apology for her dialing the wrong number. Instead, she retorted in an angry voice, "Well, pastor, what are YOU doing at the liquor store?"
d. It’s amazing that people will try to shift the blame from themselves to those who’ve discovered their duplicity!
IV. THREE TYPES OF FRUIT IN CHRISTIANS
A. “FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS”: GOOD WORKS
1. John the Baptist (Luke 3:8) said, "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance." The Lord Jesus (Mt. 7:16), described outward deeds and lifestyle as evidences of whether one is regenerated or not.
2. So our outward deeds are the visible expressions of the power working inwardly and invisibly inside us.
B. THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
For those living in Union with Christ (John 15:2-8, 16), the Holy Spirit produces His fruit in the believer; “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” Gal. 5:22,23.
C. “GATHERING FRUIT UNTO ETERNAL LIFE” John 4:36
In context, the Lord Jesus refers to “fruit” while speaking about the conversion of souls. So it seems that the results of evangelistic ministry, in which the destinies of men and women are transferred from hell to heaven, are considered as gathering fruit from the basket of eternal death and placing them in the basket of eternal life. Other similar references are Romans 1:13 and Philippians 1:22. WE WANT TO BE FRUITFUL!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: THE WALTER WILSON STORY
1. Walter Wilson was an American doctor and a faithful Christian who often hosted visiting missionaries to his church. One visitor from France asked him, "Who is the Holy Spirit to you?" Wilson's answered, "One of the Persons of the Godhead ... Teacher, Guide, Third Person of the Trinity."
2. That’s correct but was an empty and rehearsed response. His friend pushed him harder, "You haven't answered my question." Wilson confessed, "He's nothing to me. I have no contact with him and could get along without him." This alerted him he was missing something.
3. The following year, Wilson heard a sermon on offering your bodies as living sacrifices (Rom. 12). The preacher called out, "Have you noticed that this verse doesn't tell us to whom we should give our bodies? It's not the Lord Jesus. He has his own body. It's not the Father. He remains on his throne. Another has come to earth without a body. God gives you the indescribable honor of presenting your bodies to the Holy Spirit, to be his dwelling place on earth."
4. Wilson was struck to the core and rushed home to seek the Lord. He fell on his face and pleaded with the Lord, "My Lord, I have treated you like a servant. When I wanted you, I called for you. Now I give you this body from head to foot. I give you my hands, my limbs, my eyes and lips, my brain. You may send this body to Africa, or wherever; it's your body from this moment on."
5. The next morning, Wilson was working in his office when two women arrived, trying to sell him advertising. He led the two women to faith in Jesus Christ. The previous night's surrender had enabled him to access new power from on high.
6. From that day onwards, his life entered a new dimension of evangelistic fruitfulness. He went on to pioneer a church, start a mission organization, and a Bible college, as well as becoming a best-selling author.
B. ALTAR CALL
1. " Haddon Robinson – “Even as pianos need constant tuning--not only when they’re new, but all through their careers (of being used for brilliant concerts) --so people need constant refreshing, ‘tuning.’” (Abbrev.)
2. Call for salvation and for renewed connection to Jesus.
